1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to dentistry in general and in particular to a method and apparatus for providing a replica tooth.
2. Description of Related Art
Teeth play a very important role in good mastification or chewing of food as well as subsequent digestion and appearance for people. Good color, anatomy and healthy well positioned teeth greatly contribute to overall image of the individual. Occasionally, human teeth may lose their integrity or a good appearance due to a variety of reasons to a point where it cannot be restored by means of filling, buildups or crowns. Other times, the tooth may become infected or loos proper bone support.
When such teeth have been removed, a few conventional methods exist to replace such missing teeth, including replacing it with a removable appliance such as a plastic denture or metal frame denture, replace it with a traditional fixed denture or replacement with endosseous implant systems. However such conventional methods have not been satisfactory. In particular, replacement with dentures often requires preparation of the neighboring teeth by grinding and the bridge cemetation may itself be harmful to the adjacent teeth as well as blocking the flow of liquids or air between the teeth.
In the case of dental implants, such implants are commonly formed of at least two components. First a post having a screw or other fastener thereon is inserted into a socket which is drilled and tapped into the bone of the patient. Thereafter a cap is secured to the screw to provide the appearance of a tooth. Such conventional implants require extensive and highly invasive surgical procedures to prepare and place the screw type implant directly into the bone of the patient.
There are currently several difficulties with conventional tooth implants. Such implants are difficult to correspond to the natural tooth anatomy, shape and size and may frequently have a different color, shade, translucency and structure than the natural tooth. The interface of the implant and the gum tissue is not self-cleaning and may be vulnerable to bacterial plaque retention and subsequent inflammation and development of perimplantitis similar to periodontal disease. Additionally, as the implant is directly screwed into the bone of the patient as opposed to interfacing with the gums, such implants do not replicate the natural cosmetics and functions of a tooth within the gum sockets. Due to the direct connection between the implant and the bone, all forces on the tooth are transmitted directly to the bone with no place or ability to have periodontal membranes around the tooth as in natural teeth. It is well known that such periodontal membranes provide a shock absorbing quality to forces on the teeth. Conventional implants may also be difficult to install due to the need to drill and tap holes in the patient's bone to an exact size of standardized implants. It will also be appreciated that the connection between the implant and the bone is difficult to seal thereby potentially harboring more plaque and bacteria. Natural appearing position and alignment may also be difficult with conventional implants.